Eres tú (Mocedades song)

Eres tú
"Eres Tú" single cover.
Eurovision Song Contest 1973 entry
Country Spain
Artist(s) Amaya Uranga, Roberto Uranga, Izaskun Uranga, Carlos Zubiaga, Javier Garay, José Ipiña
As Mocedades
Language Spanish
Composer(s) Juan Carlos Calderón
Lyricist(s) Juan Carlos Calderón
Conductor Juan Carlos Calderón
Finals performance
Final result 2nd
Final points 125
Appearance chronology
◄ Amanece (1972)   
Canta y sé feliz (1974) ►

"Eres tú" (English: "It's You") is a popular Spanish language song written in 1973 by Juan Carlos Calderón and performed by the Spanish band Mocedades, with Amaya Uranga on lead.

This song was chosen as Spain's entry in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. After the song reached the second place in the contest, it was released as a single.

This song also has an English version entitled "Touch the Wind" with lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

Contents

At Eurovision

The 1973 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place on 7 April 1973 and was held at Luxembourg, the capital of Luxembourg. The song was performed seventh on the night, following Monaco's Marie with "Un train qui part" and preceding Switzerland's Patrick Juvet with "Je vais me marier, Marie". Composer Juan Carlos Calderón himself conducted the live orchestra. At the close of voting, the song had received 125 points, placing 2nd in a field of 17, after Luxembourg's own Anne-Marie David with "Tu te reconnaîtras with 129 points. The United Kingdom's Cliff Richard with "Power to All Our Friends" finished third with 123 points. "Eres tú" was succeeded as Spanish representative at the 1974 Contest by Peret with "Canta y sé feliz".

Eurovision scandal

The 1973 Eurovision Song Contest was marked by a scandal, with "Eres tú" being accused of plagiarism following suggestions that it was merely a rewrite of the Yugoslav entry from the 1966 contest ("Brez besed" sung by Berta Ambrož). Nevertheless, "Eres tú" was not disqualified; it has been suggested that this may have been for political reasons, as Francisco Franco's Spain was seen as more part of the European mainstream than Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslavia. Juan Carlos Calderón copyrighted the lyrics of the song in 1972. The song went on from its second place in the contest to become a huge international hit. [1]

Worldwide success

In 1974, "Eres tú" became one of the few Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and also reaching the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the United States, the song is an airplay favourite today on Adult Standards and Easy Listening radio. The B-side of the single was the English language version of the song entitled "Touch the Wind", which actually featured a completely different set of lyrics, rather than a translation of the original Spanish lyrics; either way, radio stations preferred to play the original A-side version. There were also several cover versions of the tune in both English and Spanish, only one of which ("Touch the Wind" by Eydie Gorme), charted, becoming a minor Adult Contemporary hit.

With "Eres tú", Mocedades are one of the five musical acts from Spain to have scored a top ten hit in the United States (the others are Los Bravos, Julio and Enrique Iglesias, and Los del Río), and the only to have a top ten hit sung entirely in Spanish (the version of Los del Río's "Macarena" was a remix by the Bayside Boys with English vocals).

In 2010, "Eres tú" was voted 5th on the Best Eurovision Songs Ever. [2]

In other languages

By Mocedades

By other groups

Covers

Sources and external links

References

  1. ^ Eurovision.tv, official site, history by year, 1973
  2. ^ http://eurovisiontimes.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/6-mocedades-eres-tu-1973/